RADIO DRAMA - Recording Process / Final Script

On Thursday 27th, we recorded the basic dialogue for our radio drama. Following the instructions given in our induction, we ran through our script in the studio sixteen times before actually recording. It took a few recording takes to finally get the finished dialogue. We played the parts ourselves, apart from the character of Zane who was played by Alex, not a member of our group, but a vocal talent we brought in because of Tom's absence on the day of recording. Some recordings were interrupted by external noise from the corridors outside the studio, it was hard to record without any background noise. We will have to edit carefully and choose the right time to include sound effects to improve it overall. We are happy with our vocal delivery and the general flow of the script. We know what sound effects we want to add, we just need to figure out where we will get them from and if we need to record them ourselves.


The final script can be read below:

VOCAL PERFORMANCE TIPS & ADVICE

Aims Of A Radio Drama:

Get people to listen.
Communicate a message.
Bring script to life.
Speak so you're understood.
Sound as though you are talking to a person.

How To Start:

Read script before broadcast.
Mark script - re-write if necessary.
Check pronunciation.
Get to studio in good time.

Preparing To Read:

Sit with mic around 12" away.
Sit up straight.
No alcohol before broadcast.
Get breathing right.


How Do You Read?

Speak clearly.
Concentrate on pronouncing the first and last letters of each word.
Speak slightly slower than normal.
Vary pitch and tone.
Sound interested.
Emotion + enthusiasm.
Use pauses but no heavy breaths.
Emphasize words to help comprehension.
Listen and learn.
The voice is the best tool that radio has to keep listeners tuned in.
Know your listeners.


Rhythm
Speak at a proper speed, taking time for pauses and to catch breath. Proper rhythm allows you to read a long papaer in a consistent fashion with no difference in speed between the beginning and end. Proper rhythm prevents loss of breath.

Good Pronunciation is essential.

Inflection - using the voice in an almost musical way.

Fluctuation - some moments of dialogue need more emphasis than others.

RADIO DRAMA - Recording Process

We had our induction into the radio studio, this allowed me to get to know the equipment that we'll be working with over the next few weeks. We each had a go at speaking through the microphone and we were given instructions on how to record and save audio for our drama. It seems simple enough, but it will take practice to get used to all the controls.

RADIO DRAMA - Script Development

Once the script was complete, I needed to make sure that it fit into the five minute limit that we've been given for our drama. I was unable to meet up with my group over the weekend before recording began so I did a run through of the script with my family. I timed the run through and it came to around nine minutes. After the run through I went back over the script and made some cuts. After the first cuts, it was reduced to seven and a half minutes. I then made some final cuts to the script. From here, I'm going to go through it with my team mates and we can see what else needs to be done. I'm looking forward to the recording of the drama.

RADIO DRAMA - Script Writing Progress

The script is complete and I have put it into the script format. I had to follow precise guidelines to how a script needs to be set out. I also made a script cover with mock contact details to make it more authentic. The next stage will be getting to know the radio room and where we will be recording. Also we will need to run through the script a few times to see how long it is, we need to fit it into the five minute boundary. The finished script can be read below.

RADIO DRAMA - Script Writing Progress

Tom from our group has written the final scene of our script. I edited the script according to the comments made and the issues raised in the feedback session. The script is now complete, further editing as we go along may occur, but a solid script is ready, and is one we are all happy with. Despite the lack of presence from some team members, the production of our radio drama is going well. The deadline has been met for our first draft script, this week coming will see some further development and our second draft script will be ready for the 21st of January.

We have decided on the name "Possession" for our drama. It's a sinister title, but it's quite vague and so it leaves room for different interpretations. It also makes audiences question what it's about, is it supernatural? Is it a metaphor for something else? One word titles are also stronger than longer titles, one word is easier to remember. "Possession" is also a sinister word and so suggests a horror drama more than anything else. As well as all this, the popularity of films such as "The Exorcist" with the theme of possession will draw those audiences towards our drama, just from the title.

RADIO DRAMA - Script Writing Progress

An important aspect to consider with our radio drama is: where can we take it from the first episode? The script that I have written for the debut five minute episode ends with the death of the hero and the apparent triumph of the villain. This is a twist on the classic story structure of good over evil. Below, I have brainstormed some ideas that could be used to make up the drama as a series. I have tried to think of themes and concepts that have a moral or social commentary behind them, to add more depth to the drama. Most dramas do have an almost subliminal message beneath their story. Adorno thought that media products include themes that are pushed from above, this is true in the case of dramas. Although they are presented as purely fictional, they include many moral ideas and modern social issues.


Although the ending seems to be a closed narrative with what seems to be a conclusion, the story lends itself more to an open narrative. I think over the course of the drama as a series, the character of Zane can be developed even further.

The drama could follow his descent further into insanity and the relationship between him and his followers as he struggles to keep them on his side. This would be commenting on how its believed that young audiences' interests in media products are hard to keep.

Zane's character could slowly diminish throughout the episodes as he steadily goes completely insane. The human condition and psyche is proven to be a popular subject in terms of dramas, this would add a more sophisticated edge to our drama. But at the same time, to keep younger audiences interested, there would continue to be violence and social commentary running throughout.
 
In terms of location, we could either keep the action based in the suburb where it all began, this would allow us to include more characters from the suburb and develop the history of the place.

Or we could steadily move the characters out of the suburb. Moving out of the suburb could possibly be Zane's downfall, it could be a twist in the way that he can't actually survive in the outside world. Even though he thought that's where he belonged. His struggle for control and belonging can also be a running theme.

For another twist, Andy's character could also take a dramatic turn. As Zane slowly crumbles and loses his leadership, Andy could steadily become the new leader of the cult.

For a season finale, the cult of teenagers in the suburb could go against their parents. Their parents could scheme against them, creating their own group to try and stop them, like a twisted neighbourhood watch. This would be commenting on the idea that parents and their kids are always going against eachother.

The cult of teenagers could take over the suburb and make it their base of operations. This would be commenting on the way that people are scared of youths hanging around on estates and living areas.


In our group we are individually coming up with ideas of how we could continue with the drama. If we were to continue with it, we would group together and share ideas on where to take it.

CHARACTER SYNOPSIS / LOCATION

I have written some basic summaries of the main characters in our radio drama. This will help myself and my team mates to get an idea of the characters we will be playing. This is also something that could be posted on the website of the radio drama, to let people who are new to the show about the characters. This is something that the website for the radio drama 'The Archers' did. This post is for my team mates to refer to as well in their blogs.

Teena
17
Female

Character Traits: Restless, short attention span, enthusiastic about little apart from boys, shy but is outspoken when she wants to be, ambitious. 

Character role in terms of Propp’s character theory: The Hero

A stereotypical teenage girl in the way that she is easily swayed by boys. When it comes to decisions that don’t involve boys however, she is fairly head-strong. She lives in an English suburb next to Earls Barton on the map. She finds herself bored with her life and where she lives. She is always looking for excitement and dreams of moving away all the time. Her parents are caring and give her plenty of freedom and although she has no reason to rebel, she does for the excitement. She feels as though no one understands her, apart from Andy, who is her best friend. She has also befriended a local boy named Zane through the website Facebook. She has a great interest in Zane, even though she only knows him through Facebook. She thinks he will be her ticket out of the suburb and into the exciting world she expects to be around her. Teena is unaware of Andy’s feelings for her, he feels as though he loves her but he knows she won’t ever realise. She is concentrating more on Zane than anything else, even her dreams of escaping.

Andy
16
Male

Character Traits: Loyal, shy, not very ambitious, relaxed attitude towards most things.

Character role in terms of Propp’s character theory: The Helper

Andy is a quiet teenager who enjoys sitting when he is doing anything. He sits in his room and listens to music, he sits in the local wood with Teena and he sits in the living room in front of his computer. He enjoys the comforts of a simple life, and enjoys his life where he lives. He thinks he is in love with his best friend Teena, but feels he will never tell her because he doesn’t want to push her away. He admires Teena because she is so different to him, she is outgoing and wild. He likes her energy because he knows he lacks it. He is never really passionate about anything, but he enjoys reading books and listening to vinyl records. He doesn’t have much of a relationship with his parents, or anyone apart from Teena and Chuck.

Chuck
17
Male

Character Traits: Confident, sceptical, playful, simple minded.

Character role in terms of Propp’s character theory: The False Hero

Chuck considers himself to be Andy’s best friend. Andy and Chuck have been friends since they were toddlers and so they know each other well.  He often finds Andy too lazy and Andy finds him too boisterous. Chuck is into playing sports and video games and anything that involves a competition. He gets along well with his dad and has a lot of respect for his mum. His parents put pressure on him to succeed but he enjoys the challenge. He is popular at the college they all attend and is naturally a people person.

Zane
19
Male

Character Traits: An outsider, imaginative, ambitious, mentally unstable.

Character role in terms of Propp’s character theory: The Villain

Zane is an outsider in the town; he doesn’t have many close friends but is popular. Despite being popular, he feels no one takes him seriously and he longs for friends who really care for him. He is very imaginative and enjoys fantasising of fictional lifestyles for himself. Superstitions, religion, magic, folklore and fantasy novels are his main interests. He is bored of where he lives, like Teena, and longs for a more exciting life. He finds it easy to sway people’s opinions and often leads debates at college. He sees Chuck as an adversary to his popularity. He has romantic feelings for Teena despite never speaking to her in real life. He uses social networking sites to build up a false, but more desirable image of himself.


LOCATION
We are basing our drama in a remote suburb in England, the place is fictional, this means that our audience won't know where the action is taking place, making it more sinister. But to let our audiences get an idea of the place, we will be using sound effects relevant to where the action takes place EG woodland sounds. Also, there are sound effects we won't be using, such as busy city sounds, and so the lack of certain sounds will also give audiences a idea of the characters location. The characters will also reference and talk about their location to give a further impression of the location.

RADIO DRAMA - Script Writing Progress

After formulating the new idea with one of my team mates, I went away and wrote a draft script. I bought the completed script into the next lesson and we went through it as a team each playing a different role. We performed it in front of the class and then received feedback from both the teacher and our fellow class mates. We didn't time how long it took to run through so we will need to do that at a later date. The script complete with the criticisms can be seen below. Once we received feedback we went on to discuss which parts needed to be changed. All the criticism was helpful and we agreed with it all.
Everyone in my group was happy with the script I had written so long as the changes highlighted in the feedback session were made. My fellow students were also happy with the script and the drama in general appeared to be well received. We then had a group discussion about which character each of us would play. There are four main characters and so each of us will play a part in the drama. We decided that Cat will play 'Teena' because she is the girl in our group and so her voice will suite the female character. We decided that Tom will play 'Andy' because he has a voice that we thought will suite Andy's apathetic character. We decided that Guss will play 'Zane' because he has a confident and loud voice that suites Zane's extrovert characteristics. And finally we decided that I will play 'Chuck' because my voice would suite Chuck's energetic yet sceptical character. It was important to think carefully about our roles because we needed voices that suited each character.
To progress further with our script, Tom has volunteered to make amendments to the script according to the feedback, as well as writing the final scene. I wrote the basic idea for the final scene, but it needs to be converted to script form. We will then read over it again and hopefully the final script will be ready after a little more development.

SECOND SCRIPT DRAFT

Characters
Teena - Cat
Andy - Tom
Zane - Guss
Chuck - Jack

These characters will need to be fully developed at a later date.

 

 With my draft script, I tried to write the story with Todorov's narrative stages in mind. If we look at the script in terms of his "5 Steps Of Narrative" -

Equilibrium - Two friends are walking through the woods on their way to a youth gathering with a sinister element but they think it'll be fine. They are excited and everything is ok.

Disruption - The gathering goes a turn for the worse with a murder.

Recognition - Teena is the only one to realise that what is happening is wrong.

Attempt To Repair - She runs away from the gathering and tries to get help.

New Equilibrium - Zane catches Teena, tries to convince her but she isn't convinced and so he kills her. This is not a happy end, but the equilibrium is restored, even though it is dramatically different.

RADIO DRAMA - Script Writing Progress

After looking over the first script and getting feedback from others, it became clear that the basic script we wrote needed a much stronger story. The script also was too immature for a radio drama, it lacks strength of story and characters. The main problem with the story was the fact that the character became possessed for no reason, the scenes also didn't flow into each other very well. We decided that the story needed a re-think.

We have come up with another story based around the same theme of 'possession'. Below are notes from our brainstorm:

- Drama based on teen horror movie.
- Characters live in suburb, they are bored.
- They do satanic rituals for fun, think nothing of it.
- Leader of the group is the main character, he influences others - peer pressure.
- Leader convinces others he is possessed and then persuades them to help him commit murder through sacrifice.
- We find out at the end that he is not actually possessed, he is just psychopathic.
- The drama looks into why he did what he did, why he is insane.
- He convinces them by putting a voice on, they find out he isn't possessed when he just murders someone, perhaps one of his followers in a normal way.
- The teens are a part of a cult.
- The drama will comment on peer pressure, the boredom and open-mindedness of youths, the power of influence.

After brainstorming some ideas, we came up with a brief storyline:


1) Couple of friends walking through woods talking about the main character who puts on rituals - this is an intro to the story, characters and setting through a conversation. The "equilibrium" is established.


2) The ritual happens but goes differently to people expect and main character becomes possessed. The upset of the story is established.

3) Possessed teen convinces others to help him, one disagrees and they get sacrificed.


4) They try and do another sacrifice but it is revealed that he isn't possessed and his friends kill him.


From these ideas and the basic plot idea, we are going to work on some draft scripts.

RADIO DRAMA - Script Writing Progress

I have written a draft of a script with one of my other team members. The other two were not present when we wrote it so we will have to go over it with them at a later date. Three scenes have been written with dialogue and sound effects. Whilst writing the script we have taken into consideration how we are going to achieve the desired sound effects and we have come up with the character's names. As well as the character's names we have given each member of the group their own character to play. This means everyone will be involved in the vocal aspect. We are happy with the story in the script as well as the dialogue and series of events. We will need to go over our script with the other team members to achieve a final script.

We want to go with the theme of horror within our drama, so we will be aiming to include the classic conventions of horror stories. I did a quick brainstorm of things related to horror as a genre.

HORROR
Monster/murderer, victims, sinister music, death, violence, screams, fear, tension, evil, madness, innocence.


A good horror story can also work in Todorov's "5 Steps Of Narrative".

For example:


Equilibrium - Victims are ok, unaware of murderer/impending doom.

Disruption - A murder happens which disrupts equilibrium.

Recognition - Victims realise that they are being targeted by murderer.

Attempt To Repair - Victims attempt to escape or stop murderer.

New Equilibrium - The murderer is stopped and they get back to equilibrium, but they will never be the same because some of their others have been murdered. The new equilibrium in horror films is never a truly happy ending. This adds a twist to the theory of a happy ending to most stories. Things are never quite right in horror stories.


Popular modern horror is mostly within film: it works best visually. It will be hard for us to create a scary atmosphere, but we will try our best to do this through sound effects. Sound effects are a big part of horror films too. Sounds can be far scarier in some cases than visual horror, because the element of the unknown is present; where is the sound coming from? What is it? With careful editing and a wise choice of sound effects, I think we can pull it off.



Draft Script

MAIN CHARACTERS
Nathan Knife - Bassist played by Tom
Metal Beard - Lead Singer played by Gus
Scarlet Spike - Drummer played by Cat
Grim Bill - Guitarist played by Jack

OPENING AUDIO

BAND IS PLAYING A SONG LIVE (AUDIO TRACK). THE TRACK THEN FADES SLIGHTLY AND SOUNDS OF SCREAMS FROM THE CROWD ARE HEARD ABOVE THE SONG. THE SCREAMS START OF AS CHEERING FOR THE BAND BUT SOON TURN TO SCREAMS OF PAIN. THE SONG CUTS OUT AND A VOICE IS HEARD ABOVE THE SCREAMS. VOCAL EFFECTS USED SUGGEST POSSESION.

FADE OUT TO SILENCE BEFORE SCENE 1 BEGINS

SCENE 1

THE SOUNDS OF GUITARS BEING TUNED, FEEDBACK AND MIC TESTS ARE HEARD.

METAL BEARD: Ok guys, we need to wrap this up. The stadium show is just around the corner and we’re not even close to being ready, we’re still rehearsing in our garage for Satan’s sake.

GRIM BILL: Just have another drink Metal Beard, you know we play better when we are drunk. Me and Scarlet Spike are professionals. The crowd won’t know the difference, they won’t be able to see us. We’ll be like small black ants.

SCARLET SPIKE: You’re right Grim Bill. Calm down! We’ve been doing this for years now, we are going to slay them out there.

METAL BEARD: I don’t want to be just an ant, I don’t want to just slay them. I want to absolutely murder them out there. I want this to be the darkest, most ear-shredding gig those people have ever been to.

NATHAN KNIFE: We’re not exactly Kiss are we?

METAL BEARD: 

HIS VOICE HAS NOW CHANGED TO THE POSSESED VOICE WITH VOCAL EFFECTS.

Kiss? KISS? Kiss this!

NATHAN KNIFE’S SCREAMS ARE HEARD AS WELL AS ROARING FROM METAL BEARD IN THE POSSESED VOICE AND KILLING SOUND EFFECTS.

SILENCE

GRIM BILL: We’re going to need a new…

SCREAM FROM NATHAN

SCARLET SPIKE: Bassist.

METAL BEARD: Anyone else want to say anything against MY band? We are Death Cross and we are going to destroy the world with our music. HIS VOICE BEGINS TO CHANGE BACK TO NORMAL HALF WAY THROUGH DIALOGUE. Wait, what? What happened to Nathan Knife? What are you guys staring at? What just happened?

GRIM BILL: Your balls just dropped.

A FINAL MOAN FROM NATHAN KNIFE IS HEARD. NEIGHBOUR BANGS ON THE WALL AND A MUFFLED VOICE CAN BE HEARD COMPLAINING ABOUT THE NOISE. THIS FADES OUT.

SCENE 2

SOUNDS OF HAIRSPRAY, CLATTERING AND HUMMING. THE SOUND OF THE DOOR BURSTING OPEN.

REPORTER: I hope you remembered our interview. Lets get straight to it. So this is your dressing room huh? Not much is it?

GRIM BILL: I hate reporters.

SCARLET SPIKE: I’m ready for my close up.

CAMERA FLASH SOUND

REPORTER: So first things first, what happened to your bassist Nathan Knife? I heard he’s missing. What have you got to say? Where is he? The fans miss him, do you?

METAL BEARD: HIS VOICE HAS CHANGED TO POSSESSED VOICE. Those who mention Kiss in the presence of the red one are those who are ripped limb from limb.

REPORTER: Are they new lyrics? What’s up with your voice? Kiss comparisons are stupid anyway, they are way better. You know what I mean don’t you? Sure you do. Now, the bassist? Where? Who? When? Wh-
SOUND OF HIS SCREAMS CUTS ABOVE THE DIALOGUE. SOUND OF RIPPING LIMBS CAN ALSO BE HEARD.

METAL BEARD:  EVIL VOICE AND SAME SOUNDS CAN STILL BE HEARD WHILE HE IS SPEAKING. Those who question the red one suffer a similar fate! God has created some vermin and torturing them is a job I take great pleasure in doing.

SOUND OF BODY HITTING THE FLOOR.

SCARLET SPIKE: What is up with this? What is possessing you to do this? Have you flipped or something?

GRIM BILL: You’re starting to sound like a reporter.

SCARLET SPIKE: I’m serious. I’m into dark stuff but this is just, this is just…

METAL BEARD: EVIL VOICE Murder.

METAL BEARD: EVIL VOICE Haven’t you stupid humans guessed yet?

GRIM BILL: What’s guessing?

METAL BEARD: EVIL VOICE I am Satan, possessing your precious “Metal Beard”. You are going to play the arena and you are going to be my meat puppets of destruction. You have no choice. Disagree and I will kill you and find some other hosts.

GRIM BILL: May as well going out fighting.

SCARLET SPIKE: You mean killing.

SCENE 3

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE FROM CROWD.

METAL BEARD: EVIL VOICE AND MIC ECHO. We’re Death Cross. You’re scum. This gig will be the gig of your life.

GRIM BILL: I’m going to hell for this.

SCARLET SPIKE: I think we all are.

METAL BEARD: EVIL VOICE One, two, three, four.

OPENING SEQUENCE PLAYS AGAIN. THIS FADES OUT TO SILENCE AND THUDDING OF BODIES. EVIL LAUGHTER IS HEARD.

END